Children’s Literary Salon: Ethics in Nonfiction
You know what the kids today are into? Ethics. Specifically, ethics in nonfiction. Could anything be more fun? Actually, no. At least, not the way I play it.
As you may know I’ve started my Children’s Literary Salon series here in Evanston, IL and as luck would have it there are a slew of talented locals about who are actually willing to sacrifice a lovely Saturday afternoon with me. This month I’m pleased as punch to host Candace Fleming (THE FAMILY ROMANOV), Judith Fradin (THE PRICE OF FREEDOM), Barb Rosenstock (THE NOISY PAINTBOX), and Sally M. Walker (WINNIE) for a talk about all the ethical issues surrounding nonfiction for kids these days. But don’t take my word for it. Check out this killer poster Evanston Public Library created for the event:
Bet you wish you could attend. Bet you wish there was some kind of live video feed you could watch of the talk. Well, guess what? There is! Check out the live Google Hangout here on 3/26 at 2:00 CST. Yes, come on over (virtually) to see some seriously fantastic women talk on a subject with far reaching ramifications.
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About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.
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I hope to be able to listen in on this, Betsy. When we were writing Hidden on the Mountain and The Grand Mosque of Paris, my co-author, Deborah DeSaix, and I were very careful to make sure that everything–EVERYTHING–we wrote was true, with sources cited for just about every detail. It’s a real pain in the neck, but it’s so important to get it right! Then I read a book on the same subject that was written for adults, and there were a lot of “fuzzy facts” and opinions thrown in. I was amazed that the author could get away with it, whereas we were so careful not to do that! We wondered whether that was because it was written for adults, and if there was, in fact, a different set of standards.
Boy, there’s a lot of meat to that. A person could write an entire book on writing nonfiction for kids, I tell you. A chapter on accuracy in children’s books vs. adults and why children’s matter particularly. A chapter on nonfiction imports from other countries and whether or not they’re held to the same standards. I could go on and on . . .
Will there be a recording we can watch later? (I’d love to watch, but 2:00 PM CST is before the crack of dawn for me!)
Cheers.
That is the joy of Google Hangouts. Just go here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUV1K3lMsNoTYtLyZo0esrA
Thanks so much!
This looks wonderful! Is there any possibility of an archived recording for those who are not able to virtually attend live?
But of course! On the Library’s YouTube page you will find this as well as our past Children’s Literary Salons: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUV1K3lMsNoTYtLyZo0esrA
I think the pictures for Sally Walker and Judith Fradin should be reversed. :-O
Yep. I have a little note under the picture that says as much. Just waiting to get a new version. Changed soon! Good eye.